Pencil marking machine



5 Sheets-Sheet l nventor.

Gttornegs.

G. G. WRIGHT PENCIL MARKING MACHINE Ill lll..-

V-r i Il.. 0 una ...,...Ilu IIN Feb. 9, 19.54'

' Fim Nv. 7, 195o v Feb. 9? 1954 G. G. WRIGHT A 2,668,495- PENCIL MARKING MACHINE Filed Nov.' 7, 195o 5 sheets-sheetA 2 l Snventor Y G'me-nakr 6I M16/f7;

ttomegs.

G. G. WRIGHT PENCIL MARKING MACHINE Feb/9, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Pima Nov. 7, 195o lnwentor. GRE-60er G. P/owr,

Gttornegs.

Feb. 9, 1954 G. G. WRIGHT 658,495

- PENCIL. MARKING MACHINE grijed Nov. '7, 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 @p-caer 62 MIGHT) Gtornegs.

Feb. 9, 1954 G. G. WRIGHT 2,668,495

PENCIL MARKING. MACHINE Lijed Nov. 7. 1950 5 Sheets-Sheet Gt'tornegs.

Patented Feb. 9, 1954 UNITED STATES PA'lflN'l" OFFICE PENCIL MARKING MACHINE' Gregory G. Wright, Cincinnati, Ohio, assigner to Pencil Crafts.:Inc-, Georgetown. Ky., a coriwraticnroflientucky- Application November 7, 19.50, Serial No. 194,409

aV machine of thev classabove lset forth which will beA relativelysimple in operation but which will nevertheless make perfect markings on pencils and Amake these markings on a succession ofpencils rapidly.

It is another object of the invention'to provide aVV novel locking arrangement for the printing wheels whereby it is possible to make the individlualletters larger than has been possible heretofore.

Ity isyet another object' of fthe invention to provide a clearing arrangement forv clearing the letters set up on the printing wheels prior to setting up a different legend.

Still another object of theinvention resides in the provision of a double feed-dog' for simultaneously feeding a marked pencil away from 'marking position to a delivery point'while at the same time feeding an unmarked pencilinto marking position.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of an adjustment whereby thepressu-re ofthe printing stroke may be varied.v

Thesev and other objects-ofthe invention whichY will be set forth in more detailhereinafter, or`

Figure 2 is a fragmentary crosssectiona-l view' taken yonfzthe line 2-2' of Figure lonan enlarged scale.

Figure 3 is anenlarged perspective view of one off the agitating fingers.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional View looking down'-A ward, taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 93 Figure 5 isV a vertical cross sectional view through the machine taken on -th'e line 3 5 of Figure l'or Figure 7.

Figure 6 is a detailed perspective view of onev of the connecting link members seen approximately in the middle of Figure 5.

Figurer'' is a vertical cross sectional view takenv on-the line I-.JI of Fig-ure 5.

Figure 8 is an` enlarged perspective view of one ofthe hold-down members.

6 Claims. l(Cl. 1.01--1-10)v Figure 9'is af vertical cross sectionalview taken' on the line 9--9 of Figures. 1 andV 7.

t Figure 10is a diagram showing the arrange,-` ment ofthe printing wheels to show how thev locking notches areprovided.

Figure 11 is a plan view of the pencil'feed. member andis a plan view ofFigure 12.

Figure '12. is a front elevational viewA of Figure Y Figure 13 is an end elevation/of'Figure112, as seen from the left.

Figure 14 is a cross vsectional view taken `on'thel line I4'-I4 of Figure 12`lon anenlargedV scale.

Figure 15 is a fragmentary'front elevational` view-of a portion -of Figure 12 in a diierent position, and

Figure 16 isa'crosssectional view taken on the line It---IIiI` of Figure 15 on an enlarged' scale.

Generally speaking, the machine rests upon` af base lf'cnwhich isl mountedthe framework I-I and the machine is enclosed in a housing I2. A bracket` I 3, which maybe a part of the framework; I I or suitably secured thereto as at |14y byscrews, is provided with a Vbearing boss II inv which .are mounted ball bearings I6; journaling the main crankshaft I'I; Secured thereto; as bythe set screw I8, vis-a pulley I3, having a manually actuable porti0n-20 extending outwardly through a circular aperturez-I in the front ofthe casing.wv The pulley" I9 isdriven through a belt `22' by an electric motor 23'; Themotor 23is mounted Aon -a` bracket 24` which is secured as atv 25 to anV extension of the bracket I3. In .this way the distance between the pulley I9'. and :the motor may be addusted.y In order-to support the motor for 'shipmentthere may be providedthe hole in a boss 2liA ofthe base.

By :manual rotation ofthe pulley I9, by means ofthe portion20; or by operation of the motor 23A the crankshaft I'I is rotated.

The crankshaft I'I has the crankarm 29 upon which is pivotallymounted alever 30' Preferably a ball bearing 3l fis provided at the journal. A link 32`-is pivoted to the lower end of the lever 30 at 33 andfis pivota'lly mounted at 34 eccentrica-ily of a A link 4l]l is plvoted at 4I to the upper end of the lever 3D and is connected at 42 to the pencil feeding mechanism which will be described in more detail hereinafter. It will be apparent that as the crankshaft i1 rotates, the central pivot point 43 of the lever 3i) will travel in a circular path about the axis of the 'crank I1. Because of the fact that the lower end is connected by the link 32 to a fixed pivot, the'lever 30 will be constrained to oscillate back and forth, and this oscillatory movement is transmitted by the link 40 to the pencil feeding mechanism.

A shaft 44 is mounted in the frame in a position at right angles to the crankshaft |1 and the shaft 44 is caused to oscillate by means of the mechanism now to be described. l

A twisted link 45 is pivoted at 46 intermediate the length of the links 32. At its other end the link 45 is pivoted in a fork 41 of a lever 48. The lever 48 passes through and is pinned by the pin 49 to the shaft 44 (see Figures 5 and 6). From the foregoing it will be clear that as the lever 32 oscillates under the inuenee .of the crankshaft |1, the twisted link 45 will be caused to move up and down, and throughrthe connection with the pin 48 will cause the shaft 44 to oscillate.

The shaft 44 carries the eccentric portion 5 on which the U-shaped pencil carriage 5| is journaled. |The pencil carriage and its associated parts are best seen in Figures 11 to 16 inclusive, and they will be described in more detail hereinafter. For the present however, it will be understood that at each revolution of the crankshaft |1 the pencil carriage 5| will be caused to move up and down so as to carry out a printing operation.

In connection with the printing of the pencils a material such as commercial gold leaf is used,`

and I have provided feeding means for the gold leaf which operate from the same crankshaft I1. A roll support having a flange 52 is bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the frame as at 53 (Figure 4). The roll of gold leaf which is indicated at 54 is supported on a pin 55 extending from the flange 52. The roll 54 is mounted upon a cylinder 56 having a ange 51 and the detent fingers 58 which engage in apertures 59 to lock the gold leaf roll in position. From the roll 54 the gold leaf ribbon passes over the pencil carriage which will be described in more detail hereinafter to the feeding means. The feeding means comprises a toothed or notched roller 6|) (Figures 4, 5 and 9) and a pressure roller 6| pressing the ribbon against the feeding roller 60. The roller 60 is mounted upon a portion of the frame and the roller 6| is mounted upon a lever 63 pivoted as at 64 on the casing of the machine. A spring 65 urges the lever 63 in a counter-clockwise direction so that the roller 6| bears against the gold leaf ribbon.

- Rotation of the feeding wheel 6D is accomplished as follows. A link 66 is pivoted to the shaft 6'.' of the feed wheel 60 and at its other end at 68 the link 66 is pivoted to another link 69. The link 69 in turn is pivoted to a block 10 secured to an extension of the pin 48. Thus as the crankshaft rotates and the pin 46 is rocked the link 66 will likewise be rocked about the axis 61 of the wheel 6U.

A feed pawl 1| is pivoted to the link 66, and with each oscillation of the arm or link 66'the pawl 1| causes the wheel 6B to advance one step in a counter-clockwise direction as seen in Figure 5. The wheel 60 is prevented from returning by the action of a second pawl 12 having a bellcrank 13 to which is secured the tension spring 14. In this way for each rotation of the crankshaft |1 the toothed wheel B0 is given a partial revolution, thereby to advance the gold leaf ribbon one step to insure that a fresh surface of ribbon is used.

The links 62 are pivoted on the Vshaft of the roller 60 at their one ends, and at their other ends they are pivoted to the member 5| to guide it during its up and down movements.

Returning now to the pencil carriage, particularly to Figures 1l to 16 inclusive, the mounting of the carriage 5| has already been described. It consists of two complementary halves which are held together by the bolts B. Channels are cut in the two halves of the member 5| to provide the passages 3| and 82 with the connecting -passage 83 for the pencil feeding mechanism.

At its upper end the member 5| is provided with the surfaces 84 which are arranged to accommodate the standard hexagonal pencil. The pencil is indicated at 85. In order to insure that the pencil 85 which is to be marked is held in proper position against the surfaces 84 the holddown members 86 are provided. These are secured to the member 5| and are provided with the spring fingers 81 to bear against the upper side of a pencil to hold it in proper position. Lips 5m are provided to serve as guides for the foil ribbon to prevent tearing of the ribbon during its feeding movement. From a consideration of Figures l1 and 12 it will be observed that the pencil trough constituted by the surfaces 84 is morerthan long enough to accommodate two pencils end to end. Thus the pencil 85 is shown in position to be printed upon, while the pencil 85a has just entered the trough from the feeding hopper and will be the next pencil to be marked.

The pencil feeding mechanism consists essentially of two bars 9|)I and 9| which are linked to` gether at their ends by the links 92 and 93, the ends of the links 92 and 93 extending above the member 90 to constitute the feed dogs 94 and 95. The link 40 mentioned above is connected to the links 9| and 93 as at 96. The bar 90 rides in the guideway 8| while the bar 9| rides in the passage 82. The passage 82 is somewhat larger to permit relative movement between the bars 96 and 9|. The linkage between the bars 9U and 9| and the links 92 and 93 being a free linkage, it will be clear that when the link 40 is moved toward the left, the parts will assume the condition shown in Figure l5 and the dogs 94 and 95 will be in their raised position. When the link 40 moves toward the right, as shown in Figure 1'2, the bar 9| will be moved toward the right with respect to the bar 99 and the dogs 64 and 95 will assume the position shown in Figure 12. In thefposition of Figure l2 the dogs 94 and 95 clear thev lower sides of the pencils, but. on the return stroke toward the left of the link 4U the dogs 94 and 95 will be raised so that the dog 94 will move the pencil 85 from marking position to discharge it from the machine, while the dog 95 will engage the pencil 85a to move it into marking position. It will be clear from the foregoing that for each revolution of the crankshaft l1 a pencil in the marking position will be discharged and another pencil will be moved into marking position. Agitator fingers |09 are secured to the pencil trough and their function will be described hereinafter.

The hopper for pencils to be marked is dis-- carriage shown in Figures l1 and l2. It is seenaccesses:

in.; crossiseetinn: linliigureri Theffbottcm of `the imrgazinebetweeny theeplates I0-1 isopenutozprovidesroom for thepassage;iotthefagitatonfingers |0021mentioned."'above'.e` Since th'eentireepenoil carriage .fmoveszupand downfat leach strokeeof; the machine cit willi Lbe clear. thatsthe lagitator :fingers I Meextending uup: intorthe pencil! (hopper move' the pencils and assist in lining them `up softhat they can passfdownlzbetween fthe agitator fingers lzllricntonthe surfaces` 8-4 oftheipencil marriage.r The printing wheels aresmountedlon the: upstaml.-` inganembersul'rfextending abonefthefmain; oas- The. .individual vprinting; wheels indicated at. |06 f arciv mounted. upon 1. a sleeve,l I 01 if which: Y is mounted. im thesmembers :IrIIJSeands inwhiehl there is.provided'.'afzsuitablfheating element .I 08.1. Each printing :wheel:A |206 is.: provided: with# a :manually operable;talentv I I0 iby means' Hoff which: ftheproper charactersfmay be zialigned. :fior: printing... Means aferrarse tprovidedefor locking. athe :printing :wheels imany'adesiredasset positiontsosfthatfth'ey will-1 not befaccrdentallydisplaced duringethefoperatmn of. theeinfach-ine.v` To this 'enidIhave provideda: novel arrangement` #of r thef individual 'printing-wheels asfbest "seen,diagrammaticalflyinv ligure-.i-O.i yEach printing'fwheel 'isudivided intocthreeportions-foi 120? are each'. Orreathirdffof.` :the *printingv wheel compriseslthe 'visib'lef indicia byt means :of: which the desireds character is.; set u-pz; another thirdV comprises. theaprintingxcharacters corresponding to the visible indicia and with which the actual impressien-isemadef--onitheepehcil;` vand lthe `other third is provided withvr a number of locking notchesnone for each printing character, plus one. fora zero position. The printing characters canpthus be larger than has been. .possible vheretoorebecause it vhas beencustomary to provide ldokingnotches between the printing characters. Bythe arrangement Vdescribed above wherein the lockingnotches are divorced from theprinting characters the characters themselves.,A canfbe largerin dimension without interfering wiith'proper locking of the printing wheels. An indexbar is provided at I I I and in order to set up a desired name the appropriate lingers |I0 are operated to bring the characters desired opposite the index bar III. characters. then those desired characters will be properly aligned on the printing character portion of the wheels in a position to print on the pencil 85. Mounted on the sleeve I 01 to each side of the group of printing characters are the lever arms II2, between which extends the rod I|3. A member I I4 is mounted on the rod I I3 so that it may be slid back and forth along the member |I3 as desired and so that it may be tilted one way or the other as desired. The member |I4 can be used to clear the printing characters by tilting it to the position shown in broken lines in Figure 9. If the member I|4 is moved tothe f broken line position of Figure 9 and then the entire unit comprising the arms H2, the rod|| 3 and the member I|4 are pushed toward the rear of the machine cr in a clockwise direction as seen in Figure 9, the inwardly extending portion of the member II4 will engage the tabs IIO and move them toward the rear of the machine. The member I I4 is of a length to move only a limited number of the tabs I I0 so that the effect required to clear the machine is not so great. A number of keys may be cleared and then the assembly may be swung forward, the member II4 m'foved over and again pushed to the rear whereupon a second group of tabs will be moved to clear position.

When they are opposite the desired I'he'levers =;:I. I -2isa'lsio aetuatetheelocking.

anism which will now be described. A levezzzIlI'l;v

` ctedao .links :I I9 which are*` piveted-...toathe shubs:

|20 -of theflelvers II 2;?A .A fspringfl 21. lisfconnectedf at tone -endntofgxthe-ipivot: point vbetween',itheelinks I I 8 :iandvl I9 andati its other end. is secured. tothe casingbfithemachine. ThelinkwIIS also impro-ff vided. with a: lug-I'I 9awhichv 'abuts .the link`v I |-8 tin.. theposition fot .Figure-9.1 WhenL .the flevers |2 .areworked toy fthe-lett offligure 9 thev spring-.I 2 Ir ww-i112 insure that Vthe linksnI-I 8 #and .I I 9 `remain inE .their same relativeeposition, wherebythe lockingiootlt I I 'I vis kept outfofy :engagement with. Ythe locking notches ofthe'var-iouscharacter Wheels.V Acomb.- like` member having-tines` |919-v is .securedeto the: frameeandreach tine-is providedwith a v.datent portion. IIilctof engage a locking notch` ofA Aone .et the fcha-racterlwheels... This arrangement. permits movementgof one wheel without disturbingethe settingfofthe others. From the-foregoingit'will be. observed .that when. thelever. I I2 is moved to the .rear .of .the machine.afterthevarious. print.

' ingwheels have beensetupfasdesired .(it [being:

understood. of course that` vthe member. I IJI is re,. tained in. itssolidfline position. so astcclear .the tabs I I0), the links I |9.being. secured tOthehubs I20.will be pulled..to\vard..the'left .o'iFigure 5 and t will. inturnpull. on thelinks I I Sand thelevers-I I5..

so-as to. causethe locking tooth .I I 'I tcfengagetvv-ith-` the locking notches of. thevariousprinting wheelsf When thev levers I VI 2 are pulled forward, the ypivot pointofttheflinks. I |9'on thev hubs I20;wi=ll;be movedtoward: the right'fsogthat the 'lockingrtootlr I .I 'I :is freed: from. n engagement with the flocking: notches. In this condition then: the :various print-v ing wheels can be set up as desired.

The hub |20 also carries a pin |25 which upon a forward stroke of the levers II2 abuts the extending end of the lever 63 to rock it in a clockwise direction against the tension of the spring 65 to raise the roller 6| off the gold leaf ribbon so that the ribbon can be advanced manually if de sired.

Pencils which have been marked are discharged into a suitable hopper |30 at the end of the machine from whence they may be removed manually. `Suitable switches to control electric circuits to the motor 23 and the heating element |08 may be provided on the front of the machine Ias at I3| and |32.

The purpose of the adjusting knob 39 mentloned heretofore which has the effect of moving the pivot point 34 up or down is to adjust the pressure with which the pencils are pressed against the printing wheels. Since the movement of the pivot point 33 cannot change, it will be clear that a change in the pivot point 34 will modify the stroke of the twisted link 45.

It will be clear that numerous modications may be made without departing from the spirit of my invention. Thus I do not intend to be limited to specic details in construction and arrangement as shown in the drawings or described herein, other than as set forth in the claims which follow. y

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A marking machine comprising a plurality of printing wheels coaxially mounted and which may be aligned to spell out a desired legend, each of said wheels being divided peripherally into three sections, one section carrying a series of printing characters, another section carrying a series of legible characters corresponding to said printing characters, and the third section carrying a series of locking notches equal in number to the number of said printing characters, an index bar parallel to the axis of said printing wheels and with respect to which said legible characters may be visually aligned whereby said printing characters are aligned to print the legend set up by means of the legible characters, a locking member having a portion to engage in the aligned locking notches of all said printing wheels to hold them in their set position during printing, and means for actuating said locking member, levers` mounted adjacent each end of said plurality of printing Wheels coaxially thereof, said levers being connected by a bar for manual actuation, said locking member being mounted on levers pivoted in said machine substantially in alignmentwith said rst mentioned levers respectively, vand a Yconnection between the respective levers whereby actuation of said rst mentioned levers by means of said manual bar in one direction will produce movement of said last mentioned levers to cause said locking member to engage in said locking notches.

2. A marking machine according to claim 1, wherein said connection comprises in each case a link pivotally connected to one of said first mentioned levers and also pivotally connected to one of said last mentioned levers, and spring means urging said levers in a directionto cause said locking member to clear said locking notches, except in the extreme locking position of said rst mentioned levers.

3. A marking machine according to claim 2, in which each of said printing Wheels is provided with a tab extending outward from its periphery by means of which it may be rotated, and wherein said manual bar carries slidably and rockably thereon an abutment, which when rocked to one position engages a plurality of said tabs for Zeroing said tabs.

4. A marking machine according to claim 3, wherein said abutment is of a length to engage a limited number of said tabs at one time.

5. In combination with a marking machine having a bank of printing wheels having extend ing manually engageable tabs for positioning Said wheels, a pair of levers one at each end of said bank and mounted substantially coaxially with said Wheels and connected at their outer ends by a bar, and an `abutment rockably mounted on said bar, said abutment when rocked to one extreme position extending inward of the ends of said tabsv whereby upon rocking of said levers, bar and abutment, said tabs are returned to zero position.

6. The combination of claim 5, in which said abutment is of a length to engage only a limited number of said tabs, and wherein said abutment is slidably mounted on said bar, whereby all said tabs may be zeroed by rocking said levers, bar and abutment a number of times with said abutment axially displaced for each stroke.

GREGORY G. WRIGHT.

References cited in the me of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 388,437 Norrington Aug. 28, 1888 947,364 Williams Jan. 25, 1910 1,023,540 Williams Apr. 16, 1912. 1,366,620 Wolfe Jan. 25, 1921 1,548,496 Weeks et al. Aug. 4, 1925 1,863,828 Eroman et al June 21, 1932 2,125,877 Bayerdorer Aug. 9, 1938 2,428,560 Faust Oct. 7, 194'? 

